Yankees: Best in-house options to replace struggling starters

2. Dedicated Opener

It worked for the Yankees in 2019, what about 2020?

The most likely candidate to fill a potential “Opener” role is Chad Green. New York saw tremendous success when Green opened, posting an 11-4 record last season.

With both King and Loaisiga showing that they have issues going deep in ballgames, using Green and having the aforementioned arms as the follower could be the answer.

One issue with moving Green to an opener role means his availability out of the pen late in the games will be impacted. With Tommy Kahnle already out for the season following Tommy John surgery and Aroldis Chapman still working his way back from a COVID-19 positive test, New York will need Green more than ever.

Still, if Happ is trotting out to the mound every five days and getting shelled, manager Aaron Boone won’t send Green out in mop-up duty, either.

It’s not traditional and still leads to eye-rolling from plenty of baseball fans, but the Yankees may fully commit to the new-age mentality as the team tries to solve its early-season pitching woes.